The Tale of Asbestos in Sweden 1972-1986-The Pathway to a Near-Total Ban

Our plain-English summary of The Tale of Asbestos in Sweden 1972-1986-The Pathway to a Near-Total Ban, by P. Westerholm, B. Remaéus, M. Svartengren (International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 2017).

The study

• Authors: P. Westerholm, B. Remaéus, M. Svartengren
• Journal: International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health
• Published: 2017;14(11)
• Cited by: 6 articles, as counted by NIH iCite
• Read it: PubMed · Publisher · Free full text

Abstract

This paper provides a narrative of the national intervention strategy in Sweden aimed to restrict the industrial use of asbestos. For many years, asbestos was imported for widespread industrial use, resulting in large amounts throughout Swedish society. In 1972, the whistle was blown in a Communist Party parliamentary motion describing asbestos as a health hazard and requesting action to prohibit its use. Although the motion was rejected, it initiated the extensive charting of asbestos sources on a tripartite basis, involving government agencies, and employer and trade-union organizations. Restrictive asbestos management practices were enforced from July 1982. The year 1985 saw the Government Asbestos Commission review, covering use-determining factors, international regulations, and assessments of cancer risks. The relative risks of chrysotile and amphibole were considered internationally (by the IARC), since chrysotile (a Canadian export) was regarded as unharmful in Canada at that time. Prohibiting asbestos use resulted in its virtual disappearance as an import to Sweden from the early 1980s. However, asbestos has undergone a transition from an occupational to a public-health hazard (although some work-related hazards, such as handling and disposal, remain). The transition reflects the public's exposure to existing stocks, in homes, workplaces, etc. Mesothelioma incidence has come to be regarded as an indicator of prevention effectiveness.

In plain English

This article is a narrative historical review, not a new study. The authors described how Sweden moved to restrict asbestos between 1972 and 1986. In January 1972 a Communist Party parliamentary motion asked for a law prohibiting all use of asbestos. Parliament declined to follow it, but the matter was referred to the national safety agency (NBOSH), which then reviewed asbestos rules jointly with employers and trade unions. NBOSH banned crocidolite (blue asbestos) in 1973. The authors wrote that the rapid fall in imports in the first half of the 1970s was mainly due to an employer-union agreement to use other materials. A 1981 directive, enforced from 1 July 1982, allowed asbestos-containing material only with NBOSH authorization. The authors reported that national cancer statistics for 2006 through 2015 showed an average of 97 new mesothelioma cases a year in males and 19 in women, with no apparent time trend. They noted that all such figures are subject to under-estimation. The authors concluded that four factors drove the restrictions: industry commitment to substitutes, cooperation between government, employers and unions, media pressure, and a Nordic habit of seeking consensus.

We wrote this plain-English summary from the full article with the help of AI, and a second AI model checked each sentence against the article. It is not the authors' wording; the abstract and the article are their own account.

What the study did and found

• Design: Narrative historical review of national asbestos policy (no new data collection on patients or workers)
• Who was studied: Sweden's national regulation and management of asbestos, mainly occupational exposure, from 1972 to 1986, with some later figures
• Exposure: Asbestos imported into and used in Sweden. 95% was chrysotile. Amphibole forms used were crocidolite, amosite, tremolite, anthophyllite and actinolite. Uses included insulation, brake and clutch linings, sprayed fire protection, asbestos cement, paints and glues.
• Main results:
  • The 1972 parliamentary motion to prohibit all asbestos use was not adopted, but it led to a review referred to government agencies.
  • NBOSH banned the use of crocidolite in 1973.
  • According to the authors, the rapid decline in asbestos imports in the first half of the 1970s was mainly due to an agreement between employers and unions, working with NBOSH, to switch to alternative materials.
  • The 1981 NBOSH directive, enforced from July 1982, permitted asbestos use only with the Board's approval.
  • Swedish cancer statistics for 2006 through 2015 showed new mesothelioma cases averaging 97 a year for males (range 69 to 116) and 19 a year for women (range 14 to 29), with no apparent time trend.
  • The occupational limit for asbestos fibres in Sweden fell from 2 fibres per mL of air in 1974 to 0.1 fibres per mL in 2005.
• The authors' conclusion: The authors concluded that the determining factors in restricting asbestos use in Sweden were industry commitment to asbestos-free substitutes, tripartite agreement between industry, labour and NBOSH, media pressure, and a Nordic cultural tendency to seek consensus. They also concluded that asbestos is now seen as an ongoing public-health issue as well as a work-related one.
• Limitations the authors state:
  • The authors noted that the mesothelioma figures are subject to under-estimation because of lack of detection.

Topics

The National Library of Medicine indexes this study under subjects our site covers: Asbestosis, Chrysotile.

Medical terms in this study, explained in our Lexicon: Relative Risk, Chrysotile, Amphibole Group, IARC, Mesothelioma.

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